2026 Should Be the Year of the Italian Ice
Ice cream is having a moment. Actually, ice cream is always having a moment. I'm just saying that because it's summer again (finally).
So no, it wasn't exactly a groundbreaking observation to open this article. Walking around any major city in the summer and you'll find lineups outside ice cream shops that stretch halfway down the block. In Vancouver, people line up for Earnest. In Calgary, Village is always busy. In Toronto, Bang Bang Ice Cream makes waiting in line feel like a normal weekend activity.
Canadians love ice cream because Canadians love summer.
We don't take it for granted. We can't.
When you've spent six months scraping ice off your windshield, or scared to take your next step, or yelling at your own gloves because they can’t work your phone, summer isn't a season. It's a reward. It's life after the social hibernation we were forced into. Every patio feels like a reunion. Every beach day feels precious. Every sunny Saturday carries a tiny bit of pressure. Life starts to feel like happiness and less like the a high concept post apocalyptic show on Apple with way too good of a cast. Sure, the pilot hooked us, but does anything really happen between that and the cliffhanging season ender?
But hey, maybe that's why we love frozen treats so much.
I've also always thought Canadians have a built-in slushie/slurpee culture that most other countries don't seem to have.
Every time I'm in the United States, or Europe, Mexico, whatever...I notice something. People always love pop. Or soda, I guess. Whatever we're calling it wherever we are this month. But I rarely see people walking out of a 7-Eleven carrying the giant frozen drinks. You think I saw a lot of British people walk out of the Tesco holding slushies? No, mate (British accent). Australia? No, mate (Aussie accent).
But Canadians? We love a Slurpee! I love a Slurpee. Proud of it! Specifically, I love the Graveyard. Does anyone else call it that? For the uninitiated, the Graveyard is when you mix every flavour together into one cup and pretend that's somehow a reasonable decision. I have absolutely no idea where the name comes from. I don't know who invented it. I don't know if it's a Canadian thing or if it's just something I think is normal and nobody else says it.
Anyways.
The Graveyard works. Cherry. Blue raspberry. Coke. Lime. Whatever else is available.
But after expanding my heart and mind and soul from travelling, I've started to wonder...wonder if the Slurpee has become just good enough to stop us from embracing the frozen summer treat we actually need right now.
Eat. Pray. Italian Ice.
Because when it's thirty-five degrees outside and you're walking around a city wondering why your shirt suddenly weighs eight pounds, an Italian Ice does something a Slurpee can't.
Sure, it's refreshing like a Slurpee. It's bright. It's fun. It's cheap. But an Italian Ice is just better.
And unlike some frozen treats (looking at you 16% fat chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream), it doesn't leave you feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and desperately searching for the nearest bathroom thirty minutes later. Definitely too much information.
So what is an Italian Ice?
An Italian Ice is essentially frozen fruit, water, and sugar churned into a smooth, scoopable consistency. Think somewhere between sorbet and a Slurpee. The texture is softer than a Slurpee and less icy. Less crystally. It’s smoother. It melts slowly. The fruit flavours actually taste like fruit. Lemon tastes like lemon. Cherry tastes like cherry. You get the idea. In case you don’t, as another example…blueberry tastes like blueberry.
The classic flavours are exactly what you'd expect. Lemon. Cherry. Blue raspberry. Mango. Watermelon. Strawberry. But the best places get creative. Some spots have dozens of flavours rotating through the summer. Personally, I always go for the Swedish Fish.
You can also just combine the best of both worlds of Italian Ice and soft serve, creating an elite Screamer. The cold fruit flavour mixed with rich vanilla soft serve creates the perfect summer dessert. Light but indulgent. Refreshing but still satisfying. I had one three months ago and I'm still thinking about.
And after spending time eating my way through New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and elsewhere, I became convinced of something.
Summer 2026 should be the year Canadians demand for and indulge in the Italian Ice.
We already love frozen treats. We already love Slurpees. We already spend half the year dreaming about patios. The transition feels natural. We don’t degrade ourselves by going to a 7/11 for our pizza or our sandwiches…why are we doing it for our frozen desserts?
Until someone opens up one of these, here's where you can find a few of my favourites.
Brooklyn: Uncle Louie G's
If Prospect Park is one of Brooklyn's great summer destinations (it is), Uncle Louie G's is one of its perfect pit stops.
The location feels wonderfully neighbourhood-oriented. A little corner spot with patio seating, people wandering in from the park, kids running around, playground across the street, bodega right beside it...
The flavour selection is excellent, the portions are generous, and everything feels cheerful. Cherry, lemon, rainbow, mango, blue raspberry. You really can't go wrong. Grab one before a walk through Prospect Park and suddenly your afternoon feels significantly better.
Coney Island: Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard
Look, I know Coney Island has its fans. Wait...does it?
To me, it feels like the end of the line in every possible way.
The beach wasn't great. The water wasn't inviting. There was garbage everywhere. Finding good food felt surprisingly difficult.
Then I found Rita's.
Rita's serves dozens of rotating water ice and cream ice flavours, along with their famous gelatis, which layer Italian Ice and frozen custard together into something dangerously addictive. The fruit flavours are refreshing and exactly what you want after wandering around Coney Island wondering if maybe you've made a mistake.
The Italian Ice was great.
The gelati was even better.
It's also across the street from Nathan's Famous, if you want a very mediocre but iconic dog to go with it.
Philadelphia: Pop's Homemade Italian Ice
If you've seen HBO's Task, you've probably already noticed something. Philadelphia is obsessed with water ice.
Or, as they call it (pronounce it), wooder ice.
One of my favourite recurring moments in the show is watching Mark Ruffalo casually demolish these things. No spoon. No hesitation. Just digging in. Paper cup. The man's beautiful red lips, coated in cherry and sugar...
Anyways.
Philadelphia obviously gets a lot of attention for cheesesteaks, and rightfully so. But when it's thirty-five degrees outside, you quickly discover another local tradition.
You buy a wooder ice. Then another. Then maybe another. Why not? They're outrageously cheap. I bought five of them.
Pop's is one of the best places to do exactly that. The flavours are vibrant, the texture is perfect, and the portions are huge. It's everything you want summer food to be. It's a haven in the desert. Also, the people working the window were extremely cool and nice to me.
Chicago: Annette's Italian Ice
There are a lot of great places to eat around Annette's.
You're surrounded by incredible restaurants like Dimmi Dimmi and Armitage Alehouse. Great doughnuts from Beacon. Fantastic happy hours at places like Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. Yet somehow this little Italian Ice shop often feels like the busiest place on the block.
The line always wraps around the corner. The patio is packed. Everybody still looks so happy.
Annette's offers about thirty Italian Ice flavours along with a massive selection of house-made ice cream. The Tennessee Toffee alone...toffee ice cream, whiskey-flavoured sweet sauce, and chunks of Heath bar? Absurd.
There are also sundaes, toppings, smoothies, and more. But when it's truly hot outside, I always end up back at the Italian Ice. And that's what this article is about anyway. "ENOUGH ABOUT ICE CREAM!" he yells at himself, still not deleting the previous two paragraphs.
Made fresh in-house daily using fruit, water, and pure cane sugar, the flavours feel so fresh and real. Every time I go I tell myself I'll take one to the park or down to the beach. They never actually make it that far. They're too good for impatient people.
This goes for every Italian Ice I tried and spot I went to. It doesn't try to be trendy. It doesn't need a viral marketing campaign. It doesn't need to cost twelve dollars.
It's just refreshing. Simple. Affordable. Delicious. The perfect summer treat.
And if 2026 doesn't become the year of the Italian Ice, I'll just be standing outside an ice cream shop, telling (annoying) my friends yet again of tales of the Italian Ice, waiting to indulge in a double scoop waffle cone, a perfect 2-4 minutes of bliss followed by...nevermind.
AUTHOR: Hogan short
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